It’s no secret in the world of drifting that it isn’t uncommon for people to go through a number of cars in a very short period of time. Be this as a result of drift related damage or just through sheer boredom, far too many people spend more time building cars than drifting them! On the other hand, there are people like Joe; people who have owned the same car since day one, who have got to know its ins and outs and have taken it on every stage of their drifting adventure.

I first met Joe at Buxton in early 2011 and have remained very good friends with him during his progression from being a highly skilled grassroots drifter to the British Drift Championship competitor that he is nowadays. Since then the car has undergone a number of changes, but has still been kept true to its core values; namely, keep it low and keep it OEM. It’s also his daily driver, and I believe he is not only one of a handful who drives his competition car to BDC events, but the only one to use it to commute to work the next day!

The car was originally imported as a PS13 Silvia with a tradtional “wedge” style bodykit to compliment the Silvia’s square-like features. It didn’t take Joe long to realise that the expensive and hard to find Silvia front end would be much more valuable to him if it was to be sold off before it got ruined in a drift-related incident, and so it was quickly removed, sold and replaced with the front end from a UK S13. While the “pig-nose” front bumper isn’t really a favourite in the world of S13s (the Kouki Type-X item being the most desirable) it is both cheap and easily obtainable – perfect for someone who is serious about their drifting while still keeping their car presentable.

In keeping with the OEM theme, both the wedge style rear bumper and side skirts were replaced with Nissan items, completing the subtle look Joe was going for. When I first saw the car in person it was sporting a rather epic combination of Work VS-XX and Work Rezax wheels in 17×9 sizes, but unfortunately these were eventually sold off to fund a number of sets of R33 GTR wheels and a year’s insurance, which isn’t bad going when you think about it. As much as I wish Joe was still rocking the Works, the sensible side of me says he made the right decision.

The rear end is complimented by a few subtle details (excluding the damage caused by Joe deciding to reshape the Lydden Hill wall at Round 4 of the BDC!). The spats help to beef up the rather weedy looking Silvia bumper, while the spoiler (a recent and somewhat controversial addition) is taken from an R32 GTS-T Skyline. While I originally had my doubts about it, seeing it in the flesh definitely changed my opinion and now I can’t imagine the car without it. It’s also a rather rare spoiler as well, which Joe was very keen to point out…ha.

And a slightly more useful picture…

Moving onto the interior and this PS13’s creature comforts have, for the most part, been retained, while a number of key safety devices have been added to make sure the car remains eligible for the competitions that it enters.

The standard Nissan arm chairs have been replaced with a pair of Sparco bucket seats, while the standard steering wheel has been replaced with an OMP item. The standard handbrake has been moved to the other side of the centre console to make room for a hydraulic item, allowing for instant lockups of the rear brake setup. The dash has also been flocked, while a 60mm Greddy boost gauge nestles on top of the steering column so that it can be seen with ease.

Obviously competition drifting is tough on a car, and the last thing Joe would want is for his prized SR20 to go with a bang. Helping him keep an eye on its vitals are a trio of GReddy gauges (Oil Pressure, Oil Temperature and Water Temperature) all mounted where the central heater vents used to reside. Controlling the gauges is a Defi Link Controller, enabling warning levels to be set on each gauge.

Moving onto safety and the first thing that instantly grabs your attention is the full Fabricage roll cage, coupled with the double door bars and rear X brace. There are no less than three fire extinguishers nestling around the interior, while the necessary cut off switches are present and correct in accordance with the British Drift Championship rules.

The double door bars make getting in and out an absolute pain but they definitely make you feel secure when you’re strapped in and flying into a corner at the top end of third gear!

Moving back to the aforementioned SR20DET engine and, in comparison to the vast majority of competitors in the BDC, Joe’s setup really is very simple. A front-mount intercooler is obviously a must, and the intercooler in this instance is from GReddy. Helping to supply the SR with more fuel is an uprated fuel pump and S15 injectors, while extra atmosphere is taken in via an HKS Mushroom filter.

Moving onto the exhaust side of things and a Japspeed manifold is coupled to a 3″ downpipe and full custom exhaust system, raised as far as possible in order to provide maximum ground clearance. Most competition cars tend to use polyurethane engine mounts in order to hold the engine as rigidly as possible but, as Joe uses this car pretty much every day, a simple engine damper is used instead.

I could go into more details about this brilliant PS13, but instead I’ll let the pictures and spec list do the talking. Personally speaking it’s been great to watch both the car and Joe’s driving develop over the last two years or so, and I must say it was a special moment to watch him qualify 5th in Semi-Pro at the last BDC round I attended (which was the second round he had ever competed in).

In fact the look on his face when his name was read out was priceless and I knew that he’d (temporarily) forgotten about the damage he’d done on the way to securing that position!

Joe is currently part of Team SkidRoh, which comprises of Alex Law in the BDC Pro class (whose car I have featured many times before) and Matt Samuel in his trusty Z32 300ZX (who is also in the BDC Semi-Pro class), a car I hope to feature soon. Hanging out with these guys and the rest of our close friends at events is always a massive laugh and reminds us as to why we constantly pour our money into stupid cars so that we can drive them like lunatics.